this Elegant Subterfuge
by Subkulture
Summary: Missing for thirty days, Gray Fullbuster turns up inexplicably at a masquerade ball and he spins lie after lie attempting to hide what had really happened to him. But he has not escape from the truth by escaping to the manse. Indeed, his demons may have just followed him there, and put everyone attending in danger.


_what this elegant subterfuge has become._

_._

* * *

He was late. Wasn't that supposed to be fashionable? Much like everything else in this dilapidated manse: walls with pictures of ancient nobles bordered by gold filigree, dark, satin sheets hanging from the ceiling to pile upon the floor, and delicate carvings lined the door frames. But none of the wealth that the building was made from changed the fact that the wood had become worn and chipped, the wallpaper peeling away. Not the wealth nor the richly dress men and women gliding around the first floor, drinks held delicately in fingers and masks held primly to faces.

Gray greeted the doormen with a nod, relinquishing his frock and straightening the blazer beneath. One of the servants approached holding a tray red wine, which Gray took. He sipped at it as he attempted to loose himself in the crowd.

Compared to some of the women here, most men where under dressed. They wore dresses with large crinolines and very unnecessary tournures. It made getting through doorways a great challenge. Most the women were young as well, prizes, daughters. The ones that were seemed to be around Gray's age with charming smiles, their healthy, mildly annoying, giggling permeated the room. On the other hand, Gray appeared to be the youngest of the men at just under twenty – aesthetics-wise. A fair bit of them seemed to be in their thirties but there was no shortage of white bearded men. It made Gray very thankful for the mask he wore. He didn't stick out.

He did lose himself, very well. There were many people here and they filled every room. What made it worse was that he didn't recognize anyone here. Part of which he was content to blame on the simple fact that this was a masquerade ball, and the other part he blamed on _her_.

That woman... He chuckled at the thought of her, a dark deep laughter from the depths of his chest. Some people turned toward him, obviously worried by it. He dismissed their attention with a wave of his hand before finishing the rest of his wine in a single swallow.

A hand landed on Gray's shoulder, the owner standing off to his left. One of the Trimens. Hibiki. The four of them were the hosts to this party though until now Gray had failed to see any of them.

Hibiki wore a flattering purple and charcoal three piece with a brighter grey trim. His mask was decorated with silver flowers that swooped around his eyes and outlined the edges. It glittered in the soft candlelight which lit the ancient house. The messy orange hair had been tamed down but not slicked back. "Gray, so glad you could make it. I didn't get a reply so I was unsure if the invitation found its way to you."

"Yeah," Gray shrugged with forced nonchalance. "Sorry about that. I got it last minute. Wasn't sure I'd even make it here."

"That's fine. That's fine. You're here now and that's what counts. It's good to see the hermit out of his shell."

Huh? "Hermit?"

Hibiki looked genuinely shocked, though not heavily so. "No one's seen head nor hide of you in ages. They say you're becoming an introvert, and recluse. Though most of the ladies think you're becoming this mysterious man and are romanticizing the rumours."

"I've just been away on business. I assure you," he replied. To Gray the lie sounded clipped but it slid over Hibiki like water. The man nodded.

"As long as it doesn't keep you away from your friends."

He took Gray by the arm and steered him through the crowd, with all the obvious intent to change the topic. There was also an obvious difference between the way that Hibiki moved and Gray did. Gray liked to think that he moved with a natural apprehension of people. But Hibiki was very intimate in his motions. He drifted through the crowd like fog getting so close to people that they could probably feel the heat from his skin. And because he so happened to be dragging Gray along as well, he got just as close.

And he was _hungry_.

He did not think to feed before coming here. Didn't think to feed in the past week. Now he was paying for it with lingering eyes and a rebelling stomach. But Gray was old, he was no pup, and as such, he had control.

Still, he would probably end up stealing away one of the guest for some quiet time. If not then at least grab a snack on the way home. For he did not know what _home_ would bring but it was a good bet that strength would be a necessity.

"So," began Hibiki, "you mentioned being away on business? Have you met anyone of... interest?"

Gray couldn't roll his eyes at how much of a gossiping school girl that made Hibiki sound like. "No, no one. Just the old corporate types. And they do _not _interest me. In any sense of the word."

"Too bad. Well, you know what they say about parties."

"Yes. I do."

They lapsed into silence and it lasted too long. The two had never been close friends after all. They worked together once but Gray had found himself separated from most of the Trimens. The distance in their relationship left the conversation wanting. They had no common ground to work with. Already Gray could feel his attention wandering.

Hibiki's attention was too. He looked around; obviously he had other guests to greet and Gray would not hold his attention. He expected visits from all the other Trimens at some point throughout the night now. "In any case, I must away. I hope you enjoy yourself and I will catch you around."

Gray waved Hibiki off when-

His arm froze mid-fall. Unruly pink hair just above his eye level and drifting none to gracefully through the crowd. Someone that he recognized and who would surely recognize him.

Immediately Gray turned around. He did not want – did not _need_ to see Natsu right now. He couldn't afford it for his sake.

But then there was an incessant voice whispering to him. She would not catch him here. She wouldn't find out about Natsu because she could not. This was an invite only party – which spoke to the fact that the Trimens had a lot of friends – and she was not invited.

He hesitated, looking back to search the crowd. When he did Gray did not find a drifting pink ball without a face. He did find a pair of black eyes. They locked onto his and widened in unrestrained shock. To this and this alone Gray allowed a tiny blossom of satisfaction to form.

And then Natsu was storming to the crowd, heedlessly bulldozing through, and in a second Gray felt a fist hit his face that was did not try and bloke. He fell to the floor laughing while Natsu, good old unchanging Natsu, was standing above him fuming.

"Where have you been?! A month! A whole month you've been gone and not a word to us, not a- What's so funny?"

"You haven't changed," Gray said, barely above a whisper. So low he doubted that Natsu could even hear him. Rather than reiterate, Gray climbed to his feet, rubbing the soreness from his jaw. Natsu had punched him several feet across the floor – it was no wonder that he was still feeling the blow.

Instead Gray asked, "Has it been that long?" He'd intended to feign obliviousness but he had no idea just how long he'd been isolated from the world. Normally a month would feel like nothing, the time it took a leaf to fall, but having Natsu actually say it a month seemed like so much more.

"I guess we've got some catching up to do."

The flame-headed man looked about ready to punch Gray, again. He didn't, just said, "I know. Damn squinty-eyed bastard." The insult lacked the bite of rage. Gray smiled.

"Hot headed brat."

Natsu made a strangled noise then and rubbed at the back of his head. Some of the guests – the ones not already watching the pair intently – looked back, eyebrows raised. Others just tried their best to ignore them. Those were more than likely the ones aware of Natsu's boisterous reputation.

"Look, I'm serious, Gray. You disappear without a trace. Lucy was freaking out. Even Erza was getting twitchy."

"I missed you too."

That made Natsu cough back a laugh. Another tiny success for Gray.

"Why don't we go somewhere private to talk? Maybe grab a bite to eat while we're there?" he asked. It sounded forced and Natsu would be able to tell he wanted to dodge this topic. A month. They would not be doing much talking, not alone.

Gray led the way through the crowd, slipping through his way while Natsu followed behind him bumping into people left and right. It was like the man had all the grace of a bulldog. He could attest to the bark.

Neither of them seemed to know the layout of the house but an empty room on the party floor seemed to be one in a million. Something that they realized quickly and, wasting no time, doubled back on themselves to head for the stairs.

On the way Gray drifted behind Natsu. He felt eyes on him, he felt a twisting in his gut. This had nothing and everything to do with seeing Natsu again, he knew it. There was always this constant worry that she would find his friends after all the effort Gray put into not seeing them. Now it was like she was watching him even though she wasn't here. The woman had seeped into his blood, into his head, and it was like he couldn't filter her out. It was horrible and slowly it was ruining his life.

Natsu steering him into an unoccupied room broke the feeling. Gray let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and looked around at...

Nothing. Shelves with piles of paper and boxes and little space to move around. Dust, no light.

"You moron. This is a _mansion_. You couldn't find somewhere with a bed?" Gray snapped.

The other just smiled at him. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. But he wasn't still as stone, although naturally twitchy, Natsu was doubly so today. The grip he had on his arm flexed, his foot relocated itself ceaselessly.

"What did you do? Abstain for a whole month?" Gray asked, his tone playful. But that joy disappeared the moment he caught sight of Natsu's downcast eyes. "Well, nothing to be done by it."

That seemed to give Natsu leave to act and he slipped his fingers under the lapel of Gray's jacket to pull it away. The tie followed as well as the high collared shit beneath. "Nothing to be done," he repeated. "Does that mean you won't mind if I – fuck, why do you have so many layers? – take a bite."

He didn't wait for Gray's answer. Just sunk razor sharp teeth in. It was a violent attack that tore the skin an inch from his jugular. And then Natsu was swinging him around, pushing him against the way and drawing the blood to the surface. As the man drank venom oozed over his skin, replacing the pain with pleasure.

The venom was a drug, but one he didn't feel like he needed until it was in him, pulsing through his veins and sending rivulets of fiery hot pleasure through his being. And Natsu's tongue washed over the wound. And his hands were everywhere. And _he_ was everywhere. And all Gray could think was that this man was his. Everything here was his.

He wanted more. Right now. Needed it.

Gray wrapped his hands around the other's waist, pushing back layer after layer until he could feel the warm bare skin under his fingers. He ran calloused fingers over the surface, feeling the slight ridges that bordered scars, and the smooth tissue farther on. They travelled lower, running over the pronounced v-shape leading from his hip down to-

"Where were you, Gray?"

Swallow, exhale, he knew it was coming. Knew it and tried to stop it by distracting Natsu. The only person he distracted was himself in the end.

"Who the hell can collar you like that, Gray? Who the hell tried?" Natsu snapped. His arms were braced on either side of Gray like a steel cage, his piercing eyes inches away from Gray's. "I'll kill them, I swear to God or Allah or whoever the hell they fucking worship that I will slay them."

He couldn't do this right now. Natsu's words rang true and honest while all Gray had been spitting were lies. He couldn't do this.

So he forced a laugh and a smile and said, "What are you talking about? No one can collar me, and don't you get any ideas. Perv-"

The next thing Gray felt was the flat of Natsu's hand across his face.

"Don't bullshit me!"

"I'm not-!"

"You are! I can tell," Nasu rasped. His throat obviously gone hoarse from his shouting. Gray would be surprised if no one came up to investigate. "How long have we been partners, Gray? You, me, Happy, Lucy and Erza. Us against the world." _Especially you and me_; Gray caught the unspoken sentence as it flew by. "Did you think I wouldn't notice if you went missing. Was it blackmail? Gray!"

"It was..." Gray chewed his lip, feeling his cheek flame up but leaving it alone. "It was nothing. Nobody. Just a phantom. Don't worry about it."

Natsu raised his hand to strike again but it faltered. That was it, wasn't it. That was the breaking point right there. Natsu didn't hit him. Hell, Gray wanted him to. That meant there was still hope of being forgiven, at least. Like this there was no hope. As that hand fell, unused, so did everything Gray owned – could ever hope to own.

"You can't hope to beat her, Natsu. Do you think I haven't fought?"

"I don't know," he spat, disgusted. "Have you?"

His fist hit the wall and he cursed out his fury. "I can't talk to you like this. You're not some thick headed little kid anymore. Grow up and listen to others for once. I fought. But she was too much for me so I lost. It's that fucking simple."

"I'm not the one who's being a kid! Stop running away! Stop hiding behind... behind... Whatever! I don't want to hear it. The Gray I knew didn't just roll over. Not for no one."

"You haven't fought her, Natsu. You haven't met her. She's... disgusting." But beautiful. Appearance wise she was very beautiful and in this day and age that made her very, very loved.

"Tell me her name and I will. Tell me where to find her and I'll beat her face in."

"Go ask someone else to send you to your death. It won't be me I-" _I've been trying to protect you for too long to do something like that._

Like Natsu heard his thoughts, the flame-head furrowed his eyebrows, his mouth forming a slow, disbelieving 'no'. "I don't need your protection. I don't need it! You do, apparently. I didn't think you were so weak."

This time it was Gray's turn to hit Natsu, and he did so _hard_, sending the other across the room. "Do you think I'm weak?! I turned you!" Natsu glared at Gray. There was some kind of bitter happiness in his eyes that shouldn't be there. He attributed that to his punch. Maybe... Maybe he hadn't been hitting Natsu 'cause he was conceding? No. Just that there was nothing to gain but a sore fist and a lot of bruises.

And still, Natsu didn't hit him.

"Turning me doesn't make you strong."

"Enough of this bullshit," Gray scowled. "Let me out. There's a party downstairs and I'd rather not waste it up here with you."

"Stop running!"

Gray froze, foot poised and ready to step around the black that was Natsu, still on the floor as he was.

"Just... Just stop. The Gray I knew didn't run. The Gray I knew..." Natsu faltered. Just a second he faltered and Gray's heart followed. "The Gray I knew was strong. As strong as me. As strong as anyone I know."

Unable to look at him, Gray downcast his eyes to anywhere but, whispering, "But you don't know her. I don't ever want you to because she's not just some lowly monster to be defeated. She's... She'd be cute if she were grotesque. If she were just like the Phantom. A sad and lonely man kidnapping the princess. She'd be cute if she were just some pitiful villain with an ugly face and an uglier heart. But this Phantom wears a mask of beauty that cannot be removed."

"Disgusting."

"Yes."

"No, I'm talking about you."

Gray's frozen foot connected with the side of Natsu's head and the man left the room in a flurry of coat tails and rage.

How dare that Natsu. He'd tried so hard to protect him and even though he didn't expect to be thanked it would have been a lot better than whatever the hell that was back there. In the past month that woman had... had... Fuck. It didn't matter now. The damage was done. He'd go down stairs, grab a nice girl, and go for a drink. He would enjoy himself because screw Natsu and all he was worth. He didn't know. He didn't know.

There was the sound of heels on the stairs in front of him. Most likely it was someone coming to investigate the commotion upstairs. Gray could not see them for the rage he felt.

"Why do you possess such a solemn expression, my dearest Gray?" came a bright lilting voice. Completely unsympathetic as the words suggested it should be. At the sound of it alone the man felt his heart sink low. "Did you have a fight with your lover? Did you fight with this Natsu. You have not mentioned such a man before?" _No_. "My, my, he certainly did something awful to your beautiful face. All these bruises." _No._ "This one looks particularly nasty. Right. Here." _Please, no._

He stumbled back. Up the stairs. Ready to turn. Ready to run. But he couldn't because he knew what that would lead to. Natsu was up there. And if Gray went that way then he would become a target.

Minerva would kill him.

So instead Gray turned a dark eye to the woman. "Why are you here?"

"I would love to meet your little friend."

"Go to hell."

She brought her fingers to her lips in mock astonishment. Gray watched, stiff with foreboding, as her eyes turned cold and her hand fell away, bloody. That blood then sprang forward at a breakneck speed, drilling its way into the length of Gray's leg. He gasped but didn't fall. The smell of iron was strong in the air. Strong enough to make his stomach turn even though the owner was a putrid woman and he.

Another bloody spike jumped after the first. This one dug into his gut. He could feel his kidneys quiver from contact. She was not done yet. There were five fingers, so three more spikes would – and did – come. Borrowing into his hip, arm, and shoulder respectively. The smell of blood rose in the air and Gray felt himself growing weak kneed. From loss of hunger he could not tell.

And all that in but a second.

"Easy now, my little Gray. We shall earn back your health someplace secure and _then_ we shall take care of your little friend."

_No. Natsu._

_/_

"Ugh..." he grumbled, rubbing his head. It was sore. It throbbed. Gray put a lot of force into that kick and Natsu knew how lucky he was that his skull hadn't become concave, thus was a vampire's power.

With only great difficulty did he rise to his feet. Too late to just open the door and find Gray standing there. The other was probably half way across the province by now. But he'd be damned if he wasn't going after him. Natsu owed it to Gray. Owed it to kick his ass and owed it to help him. Not necessarily in that order.

Dammit. Why did that bull headed- Why did he have to be so stupid? So what if 'she' was strong? He would be stronger. Gray had to know that. So why did he insist on staying with that bitch? Who _was_ that bitch?! What vampire was so powerful to keep another under lock and tooth? Gray was one of the older vampires he knew, almost a hundred years his senior – and latent proof that age did not equal wisdom – and he was seconded only to Erza. So who...

People that strong did not tend to stay hidden from society; the black or the white.

He didn't know. But he'd soon find out even if it killed him. And he'd tear Gray limb from limb to get it.

The party was still going strong when Natsu got to the first floor landing. Didn't know why, but he had expected it to be dead, for the world to go through the same turmoil as himself. It wasn't. It never would. Those around him were smiling and laughing when they weren't wearing the serious demeanour of business. Not ten minutes ago the sounds would be comforting. There was a buffet somewhere, his friends where somewhere. Not Erza, or Lucy. Neither could make the flight in time as both where overseas. The Trimens were here, however. The party was theirs.

So it was them that Natsu looked for. The first he spotted being Eve. The blond boy was dressed in snowy whites and blues and was sat on a sofa with two ladies who looked several years older than him.

"Hey, Eve!" Natsu shouted, his voice clearing the room as he flagged the boy down. The blond waved enthusiastically before politely dismissing himself. "Yo. Have you seen Gray? He just stormed out on me – after kicking me in the freaking head."

Eve shook his head before really thinking. "No. I haven't seen him all evening. Maybe you should talk to Hibiki. He talked to him earlier, when Gray had just arrived."

"Hibiki... Hibiki..." Right, the orange haired one. "Right. Got you. Where is... he?"

Pointing to the left, down the hall, Eve smiled. "Follow the giggles."

Natsu nodded, thanked him, and pushed on. The crowd seemed to grow thicker the more Natsu wanted to go somewhere. But he was firm in his goal and would not be deterred by the throng of people. Increasingly woman.

So when he did see the locks of orange getting swallowed by the crowd he only doubled his pace. The man in the distance seemed to be just swallowed by woman. That seemed to be his preference, however, as he played up on the idea of him being a womanizer just like the other members of Trimens.

Once he was close enough Natsu sung out to Hibiki that way he'd sung out to Eve. With the man's attention, Natsu motioned him over to the side of the room, where Hibiki was forced to abandon the hoard. He looked, in part, thankful.

"Have you seen Gray at all?"

"Yes. I greeted him when he came in." Hibiki replied. When he had stepped to Natsu the man seemed more preoccupied with straightening his clothes then was strictly comforting. Now the man's expression had grown cold and deathly serious. As if he'd caught wind of something in Natsu's tone that he did not like.

_Join the club_, the vampire thought, grim. Out loud he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Very. What is it? Natsu. What's wrong with Gray?"

With a sigh, Natsu scratched the back of his head. "You've heard the rumours. Gray's been... Well. Gone, for the last month and when he finally shows up he starts avoiding all my questions, kicks me in the head, and storms out." He's being a moron. He'd been blackmailed, abducted, tormented. Not tortured, he hoped. Though vampire healed too fast for any marks to remain after.

Hibiki nodded. "Yes. I've heard as much. He told me he was away on business."

"That's bullshit."

The host shot Natsu a hard look, when the latter met head on. Hibiki's reply was cut short. A scream curling through the air. The two started, looking across the floor as far as they could see.

"What was-" Natsu began too late, the other already pushing his way through the crowd. All the party goings were following his lead, genteelly swarming the screamer's – a woman, very much a woman – location.

Normally Natsu would have found himself storming over there with Hibiki, ready for a fight. Tonight he found himself oddly disjointed from it all. It had nothing to do with him, why would he bother with it. The woman had probably found a bug in her drink. He didn't know.

And yet... What if it was connected? That was a thought that twisted Natsu's stomach into something grotesque and uncomfortable. He didn't know how the scream was connected and never would unless he went to investigate. Instinct told him it was connected, so it was, it had to be.

Natsu began to push his own way through the mass of people, his target the orange hair that was Hibiki. Admittedly it made a great beacon, without the vampire he could easily get lost amongst the crowd and the twists and turns. Said crowd did not want to let Natsu through. No one moved to let him pass which forced him to push and shove his way to the front of the crowd. The body heat made the trip warm, but the chill in his bones would not go away. When he burst out the comparatively fresh air was still comforting.

The sight was not.

The woman who'd screamed had to be the one on the floor. Her knees probably gave out from under her from the shock alone. In the flickering candlelight Natsu could just make out the fresh tears streaking down her face, and her wide eyes shone a bright yellow-orange in the glow. All the while, her hands clutched at Hibiki's chest. The host had drawn her in close to him but otherwise paid her no mind. Instead he was staring darkly at the object of horror before him. As if to will it away with hate alone.

But bodies did not disperse because you disliked the sight of them. This body, once a man, now a corpse, was strewn rakishly across the kitchen table, the fly of his pants down low and a single hand fallen off the table with its nails bloody and torn from clawing at something fruitlessly. What Natsu really noticed about him was none of this. It was the pale complexion to his skin despite not having died long enough for rigor mortis to set it. No. This body had been drained of its blood. His skin was tight over his bones. Lips, chapped, flesh white. Very drained.

Looking from this distance did not tell him how he had been drained. For that Natsu would have to get closer. He did, obvious distaste splayed across his face. And it was just as he feared. Twin, very violent, holes buried into his neck, dark veins standing out against the surface of his skin. A vampire's work. Not Gray's work, thankfully. Gray was clean. Even venomous with hunger, he was clean.

Now it was a matter of finding out who here was the killer or if they were still here. Not something Natsu looked forward to but he though he already had a good hunch at who it was; the same bitch who had Gray under her thumb.

The idea alone was enough to make Natsu's blood boil. It wasn't enough to find her, maybe the tearing limb from limb after, but not that.

Natsu growled in frustration – he and logic problems did not get along. The sound called everyone's attention to him and he in turn placed his attention on Hibiki. That man was a walking computer, a great hacker through the way of hobby Hibiki breathed, ate and slept logic. He'd be able to sort everything out. Gray wouldn't agree to Natsu telling Hibiki; but he had revoked his say in anything when he refused to talk to Natsu before assaulting him and storming out.

"You know something, don't you, Natsu." Hibiki said in a hard tone. He was already thinking, attesting to what Natsu had assumed. "Tell me."

With a nod, Natsu indicated to the crowd. "Not here."

"Agreed."

They slipped into the kitchen, Hibiki handing the women to someone else in the crowd, only to slip into the pantry. Somewhere away from the mass of people who would be demanding answers, and somewhere away from the corpse.

"Okay," he began once Hibiki was comfortable and waiting. "Gray hasn't been away on business."

"Yes I got that."

Natsu scrubbed his head in frustration. The Triman apologized before he continued. "I think Gray's being blackmailed by this woman. But he won't tell me who she is! She's the one who murdered that guy. She's got to be."

"What makes you so sure, Natsu?" Hibiki asked. "We can't just go around accusing people of murder."

"Gut instinct?" It was sad, but Natsu didn't have any other defence. He trusted his instinct and in Natsu's very long life it hadn't led him astray.

Obviously Hibiki did not approve of the answer. Nevertheless he went with it, saying, "Fine. Let's say instinct. Who is she? She hasn't left yet. The doormen are still at their posts and no one has left yet. Meaning the murderer is still here."

_Meaning Gray was still here and-_ "She's with Gray. She has to be."

"We don't know where Gray is... But no one has left the house and he's not in the first floor. That leaves us the second, third, and basement."

"He's downstairs. We were on the second floor and he came downstairs."

"Good," Hibiki approved with a nod. "I will evacuate everyone who's cleared their innocence and meet you down-"

"No!" The man's eyebrows shot into his forehead. "You need to get everyone outside now. When I see her she might feel threatened and kill again."

After a seconds thought Hibiki agreed, though Natsu could see the reluctance plastered across his face. "Agreed. We do this your way. But I am going to call the police."

"Whatever!" Natsu was already gone through the kitchen to disappear into the crowd.

/

Gray woke groggily to the smell of old wood and wine. His leg was sore – hell, the entirety of his left side was sore – and when he shifted he found that he could not move far. His arms, hoisted above his head, were chained to whatever was behind him. With a grunt he tugged at his bindings, only stopping when he heard the disapproving, tell-tale hum of Minerva.

Through the darkness he found her. Her long, slender legs crossed in front of her, her dark hair draping over her shoulder in long, straight strands. A month ago Gray thought she was beautiful. But in that month a lot of things changed and his view had turned ugly.

"Damn you," he swore. Struggling more didn't do anything, his bindings would not let go.

Minerva did not respond to his obvious hate, not a twitch nor a blink. What she did do was smile, fake sincerity written all over her face. "I am glad you have finally come back to the world of the living, for I feared that you may never rise at all."

"You were the one know fucking knocked me out."

"And you have my sincerest apologies, but I feared that you would yell and summon the party's attention to us. I would not wish for them to disturb our time together. A feeling that I am sure is mutual."

"Hell no!"

"Am I to be offended by this? No, I truly think not."

"Please," Gray hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits, "get offended."

A solid hit struck him across the face. Snapping his head into the wood at his back. Aged wine spilled out around him, and the vampire could only cough and sputter at the sweet stench.

Her hand rested on his face. "_Then I shall."_

Claws dug into skin, cheek tore open wide, and it was all Gray could do to not scream. He locked his blurring sight on the vile beast of a woman, watching with a twisting gut as the witch licked blood and flesh from her nails.

He wanted to talk. He was arrogant. He wanted to insult. He was a bastard. But he could not move his jaw for the pain lancing through it. For its torn skin and seeping ooze.

Minerva bent low over him so her breasts pressed to his chest. The vampire recoiled from her stench, perfume and nutmeg and iron and death. Slowly the woman crawled into his lap, thighs and weight pinning him to the floor as she rolled her tongue over his raw cheek. Gray could not help the reflexive flinch or the tears that sprung to his eyes.

The witch – Minerva had no right to be called a vampire. She was nothing of the sort. - ran her fingers over his sides, nails digging in deep between Gray's ribs as she hoisted herself higher. Hands made fists, bones snapping between them, and this time Gray could not restrain the cry that escaped his lips. All he could do was silently plead with his body to not heal. Unset bones healed crooked, flesh would stitch around the penetrating fingers. Already, he could feel the heat coming away from the flaps that were what was left of his cheek as the area hyper-inflamed.

With a sharp squelch, the witch, wench, pulled her fingers from his body. She sat back on his legs, licking away the blood on her fingers as if it were icing. A sight that would not have made Gray physically sick had it not been his own blood, speckled with his own bone and his own flesh.

"What shall we do now?" she questioned, resting her hand upon his chest. Just over his heart.

He swallowed the lump of nervousness that quickly formed in his throat. It tasted of coal. One wrong move and the witch would pierce his heart and that would be the end of him. He could see it happening. His cheek healed and he flexed his jaw.

She smiled, her hand trailing lower to his diaphragm. "I do so hope that you are beyond your phase now, Gray, for I would like for you to answer one question. I admittedly know the answer. Thus, I would not recommend lying." Minerva's claws pricked his skin through the fabric of his shirts and in a single fell swoop she had them both torn away. A grunt bubbled to Gray's lips. When had his mouth become so full of blood? When she stopped drinking the flowing blood on his check? It had nowhere to go but down his body and his own throat.

"Who is Natsu?"

Gray glared her down. He had known the question would come but hearing it spoken made his gut twist to new angles and his heart sink to new lows. With a grimace he replied, "Just a snack."

"I do not believe you. You have puncture marks upon your neck that lead me to believe that you were, in fact, the snack." Her face split in a grin. "You lied to me which I told you to not do. And now you shall reap-"

"What I sowed?" Gray snapped. The satisfying, audible snap of her jaw was all that could be heard in the following silence.

Which was cut by the sickening sound that sent a wave of pain through Gray's spine.

Once more Minerva drove her claws into Gray and once more he heard himself scream. He hated himself.

"Go-" He choked, blood gurgled up his throat and his next words came out watery and distorted. "-to hell. Filthy trash." But all she did was laugh and laugh as her hand squirmed inside him.

He grunted. The hand tore down. He shrieked. She smiled wider. Her hand found something vital, kidney, liver. He did not know. All he knew was searing pain and the desire to wither away and perish.

But death would not find him. Not again. That last time it did he demanded to be turned, he would not die then and he had nothing. He had lost the home he loved, the family he adored, friends, loved ones, home, village. Everything had gone and nothing had remained.

Now Gray had things of his own. He had people who loved him and people whom he loved. Some would die before he aged a day but others, Lucy, Erza would be alive a century from now and they would remain as steadfast and loyal as he would to them.

And Natsu. Practically his son by vampire standards, but so much more at the same time.

"Why do you want to know- ugh! - about Natsu anyway?" he strained out. Every word was painful, every breath a solid dose of agony.

"Why? He is dear to you is he not? You wish to be with him?" Though Gray did not answer he knew it was written on his face, he knew that she read it and took it as the truth is was. Affirmation. Yes; Natsu was dear to him. Yes; he wanted to be by Natsu's side. Wanted Natsu by his. They were a team, they were equals, and Gray was not so blind to say that they did not make each other better men.

"That is why I wish to slay him, and I wish for you to be the one to enable me to do so."

Unbridled anger swept through him. Not spontaneous. This was an anger that had built over a month of pain and anguish and fear. It was anger he had capped but had grown too large to contain. Now the top had blown and he shook at his chains like a rapid hound, screaming; "Like hell I would!"

She did nothing, save coolly rise to her feet and brush the dirt away from her dress.

"You fucking wench! Dirty whore! You won't taste another drop of my blood. I'll see you staked and burned before I am through."

"Oh, I am positive that you shall. In time. But today you a weak. If you had been human then exsanguination would have seen you dead long ago. For this reason you are fun."

A spear ran him through. He felt where it hit and felt the important organ tremble from the nearness. Just below his heart, and out threw to his back. This attack, unlike the others, did not hurt. So rather than screaming, or whimpering, or making much of any sound, Gray just looked down at the intruding object like it was a third arm. Vague curiosity painted across his face. He knew what it was, where it had come from, but some part of the man's brain could not seem to get around the fact that it did not belong there.

"Gray, no..."

The ancient vampire looked up. That voice had not been Minerva. It had been a man and a man Gray knew very well.

"Natsu?" _What are you doing here?_

Gray had tried to say all of his thoughts aloud because, one, he seemed to be doing very little thinking right now so it they were thoughts they were probably important enough to be shared. And two, he really wanted to know. Natsu was no psychic. He was reckless and foul mouthed, possessing no more special power than your average blood sucker and Gray wanted to know. Alas, the man just chalked it up the fact that his brain and his body did not wish to want to get along.

Even from across the cellar Gray saw Natsu open his mouth and he tuned in, hoping for an answer to the unspoken question. Yet there was only silence despite the fact that the flame-head's mouth was still opening and closing. He looked like a guppy. Gray would have laughed at the thought had he not been so numb.

Then Minerva turned to Natsu and Gray's heart gave a desperate thrum and everything flipped to black.

/

"Gray!" Natsu shouted. "Gray! What's wrong?!" Then he saw the sight for what it was; a one sided fight. Torture.

Gray's left cheek was swollen and red, a gaping hole where half healed muscle and skin had been torn so deep teeth where visible. Festering wounds had been torn into various parts of his body. Most notable were the five along each rib, the exposing skin a black and purple mixture that told the tale of broken bones and internal bleeding. The other being the open gap below his heart and the filled gap in between. There was so much blood he could not separate the two.

"Fuck!" Instantly, Natsu spun on the bitch standing over Gray. It was _her_. That was a fact. The one who had stolen- had victimized Gray for the last month. "The hell did you do to him?!"

"You are not very bright are you, Mr. Dragneel. Or perhaps you are merely blind. As you can clearly see before you, Gray is alive but relatively unwell. I feat that if he-"

Natsu threw himself forward, the floorboards cracking beneath the pressure. His fist extended, he rose his head to meet _her_ eyes before breaking every bone in _her_ body.

She wasn't there.

Attack falling on nothing, Natsu's shoulder met to wooden crate beyond, the wood buckling but not breaking.

"Slow." She was behind him, her hand slicing an arch through the air. He dodged. She attacked. He dodged again, feeling himself being propelled slowly to the door.

With a curse Natsu grabbed at her wrist and dragged her forward to sink his own hand in her gut. The woof of air which escaped her was satisfying but did nothing to quench the anger bubbling inside him.

She doubled over him, limbs eerily limp. Then fingers tangled into Natsu's air and superhuman strength was hauling him down and bending his back at an inhuman angle.

"It is extremely rude to interrupt one's sentence. Do you not agree?" she said as Natsu gritted his teeth, his spine threatening to snap.

Instead of words, the vampire just spat at her. The bitch wasn't worth words.

"Let's try again. My name is Minerva. You are Natsu. It is a pleasure to meet the man who captured my Gray's heart. Now I fear that it shall be time for you to leave this word."

Minerva's hand clamped down onto Natsu's neck like a vice. Squeezing shut, cutting off his air, blood squeezed through constricted arteries, oxygen deprivation made his head light.

"Yours," he rasped. "Not." Skin bunched around her fingers and something crunched inside him. "Gray's not-"

His hand found her face. The pressure being forced into his head frayed the edges of his sight to the point where almost everything was black. But he managed to slip two fingers into her mouth and pulled.

The flesh came away and Minerva let out a banshee's screech. She let go of Natsu's neck as she stumbled clutching at the wound as if to hold it together. Natsu just dropped to the floor, sucking in breath after breath while gently messaging his neck back into health.

Minerva was doubled over blood drizzling from the gaps between her fingers and creating a pool on the floor. "You good for nothing, putrid, rotten, _filth_!"

Natsu glanced up at the sound of cracking wood. The floor was _exploding_ before him! No – Dark tendrils tore into the floorboards with a vengeance, ripping it apart and marking Natsu as their goal. They were fast. The vampire was forced to leap away not a second before the queer attack proliferated into the place where he had been standing. But no matter how fast his leap was he could not prevent one of the assailants brushing his leg; leaving it burning from the friction and wet from the residue.

Residue... Blood! No.

Yes. Minerva's blood coated her hand and the tendrils protruded from each of her fingers. Meaning that she must be an ancient; meaning she must have been at Erza's age at least.

Beating her suddenly looked as if it would be a lot harder. Not impossible. Natsu might just be there a bit longer.

He wiped the blood off his leg quickly, unknowing what she could do, before turning to face her.

The wound on her face was already half healed, but not completely and the witch was grinning around it, giving her smile a ghoulish appearance. Past the skin Natsu could make out the sheen of blood coated teeth. She looked reminiscent of Gray. Not enough. Natsu planned to put a hole in all the same places.

For today, whatever chivalry Natsu possessed was dead.

/

_What was that noise? It sounded distorted and distant and very, very wrong. It was so dark where he was, so quiet. Any sound seemed wrong. H__i__s first instinct was t__o__ scurry away from the obtrusive sound b__ut__at__ the same time it was grounding. Ever__y__thing he could see, feel, touch, was in a state of nothingness. Even himself, it was like he was just a disembodied conscience._

_And perhaps that was exactly w__hat__ he was. A disembodied conscience. No physical form to call his own._

_And perhaps the sound and his body where connected._

_He waited to hear it again. There was nothing to be heard, so he waited some more._

_/_

"Would you like to know why I stole your boyfriend right out of your arms? Or perhaps you would take more pleasure in hearing the how?" she preened. Just the tone that Minerva took made Natsu's stomach roll. So he lurched into an attack swinging his fist with claws extended at her stomach. She just dodged it and Natsu was able to catch the dress' fabric on his nails.

"I don't care." He skidded along the ground, stopping some distance away from Gray's limp form. "You won't be around to do it again. He's not yours!"

Natsu lunged again and again she dodged gracefully, retaliating with words rather than fists; "So you fancy that he's yours?"

"He's no one's. Gray belongs to no one but himself. Don't fucking kid yourself."

The witch hurdled a spike at him. The long object sprung as a blur in the air and Natsu barely had time to jerk to the left, turning a fatal blow into a minor nick by a few inches.

"You do not own him, and he does not trust you. Indeed, that does sound akin to a fruitful relationship, doesn't it."

"Go." Natsu swung left. "To." Natsu kicked right. "Hell." The flat of Minerva's hand connected with his face and she pushed. _Hard_.

The vampire felt himself rocket through the air before being driven head first into a wine barrel. Blinking away the fruity drink, Natsu looked out through the hole. Minerva was on the opposite side of the room, her arms folded, her hair loose, and her clothes ripped. Natsu couldn't see one wound on her body anymore, while Gray was covered in his own blood and Natsu was feeling his bones starting to ache from the constant exertion of so much power.

But it was like he was using no power at all. She seemed barely fazed while he was ready to drop from using almost more than he had. He hadn't done anything to her while she had just punched him across a cellar.

/

_Who had been that talking? Two voices for sure. One female and the other male. He knew both voices but one left a feeling of dread in his stomach where dread had no place being in the world of nothingness. The female voice._

_The male voice came with its own emotions. He liked the owner of that voice. It made him feel warm and angry in all the best ways. He would move toward that voice. Because whatever was at the end of that tunnel had to be good._

_Right?_

_/_

Natsu blinked the wine from his eyes and he distance between he and Minerva vanished. She was there reaching into the barrel with claws spread looking to tear out his throat. Instead he snapped at her hand, twisting his body until he was able to spring out the gap and tackling the witch to the ground. The floor buckled beneath them. Natsu was readying a punch, but his fist was caught. Minerva was then flipping him over into the torn up space, driving his back into the fractured cement foundation beyond.

He gasped as the stone drove past flesh, searing pain lanced up his back. And she was there again, her nose touching his, he breathed in her breath, smelled her smell. He was moving. She was dragging him across the ground, the rough stones making tracks into his back, and he was plucked from the earth as easily as a babe, flung through the air like a pebble, and hit the ground like a bull.

A scream latter and the facts of the impact slipped into his head. A dislocated elbow. A shattered shoulder blade. With a grunt he pushed himself to his feet. But the movement took too long and she was already throwing another attack his way. The tendrils of her blood appearing once more in an angered mess that lashed out at Natsu, striking his back, his arms, everywhere.

He couldn't move. It was all the man could do to just coil in on himself and wait for enough of a break in the attack to retaliate. But he wouldn't succumb. Teeth gnawed at his bottom lip in a desperate attempt to fight back any sound.

When the break did come Natsu was quick in grabbing a splint of wood, dodging to the left, away from the flurry of whips. The splint was a javelin and he dashed forward with the wood extended before him. He saw her eyes flash as the moment slowed, saw the flash of not fear but viscous venom, before running her through.

There was the resistance as the weapon fought to push through layers of muscle, fat, and bone. There was the sickening squelch as blood was forced to the surface. And there was pain that darted up Natsu's being. He glanced down curiously to find the woman's wrist disappearing into his gut. He saw her twist it and pull her hand free. And he screamed.

/

_Natsu. That was Natsu. But what was he doing here? He was supposed to be enjoying himself at the party. Hitting on girls, eating until he burst. Not here in this dungeon with this witch._

_But wasn't he in nothingness? No. It was dark and sore but there was something to this void now. He felt his body and heard the noises around him. He could hear the sound of Minerva's laughter and the sound of Natsu – it had to be Natsu, he didn't want it to be but it was – hitting the floor._

_And he was sat there doing nothing. Even with these wounds he had to try. Centuries of life would be for nought if he didn't._

_Natsu could die by her hand if he didn't._

Gray forced his eyes open and blinked away the haze left over my unconsciousness and pain. The entirety of his body seemed to be covered in sticky blood and it made his throat ache with thirst. A thirst that had to be forced down. Now was not the time to be hungry, he had things to-

The spike was still protruding from his chest. Luckily, in a sick sense of the word, he was too wounded to heal properly and as such the skin didn't stitch around the intrusive object.

He gripped it hard, biting his lip and – headless of the fighting around him (Natsu had picked himself up from the floor and was now throwing himself at Minerva. He swung wildly and frantically, she parried and dodged with haunting grace. The battle was a blur.) – pulled hard. The spike came slowly but it came nevertheless, lighting his nerves on fire in the process.

Once out, Gray tossed the bloody spike to the side and leaned heavily against the wall. All his limbs felt a hundred pounds heavier and the vampire couldn't help at the irony. With all the blood he had lost, Gray expected to feel that munch lighter rather than the opposite. He grimaced at the feeling of fresh blood flowing from him, joining the sticky, half-dried mess from earlier.

Natsu... Gray looked up watching the vampire fight. He was managing to push the woman back. Gray could remember doing that himself a month ago. But a month in her care had left him weakened. He watched, brow pinched, as the flame-headed man through punch and fruitless punch, and kick after fruitless kick.

Then Minerva grabbed his leg. A crack echoed.

Natsu was whipped through the air. Forcing the last of his strength to surface, Gray jerked forward, putting himself between Natsu and the wall.

The vampire was driven into the wood, blood pushed up in his throat. They both hit the floor with a grunt, Gray's more watery from the two but both sounding sick.

"G-Gray!"

The man winced at the sound. Natsu sounded honestly shocked, and spun around fast enough to make that sharpness. The movement causing friction on Gray's wounds. So much so that he could not stop the whine which escaped him.

"I'm fine," Gray replied to an unanswered question. Then he really took in Natsu's state. Lacerations, and in some places the flesh being completely torn away, there was heavy bruising on one shoulder that looked completely limp. He wasn't even bothering to cradle it, he was just letting it hang as dead weight. A swollen left eye and bleeding marks along his throat. Had there been time Gray might have checked for broken ribs. Though the need wasn't even there. There was no way he didn't have broken bones in that kind of fight. And his leg...

"Bullshit." On wavering arms, Natsu tried to push them to their feet. But he didn't make it, just crumbled back to the ground. "Shit!" He looked down as if just noticing the damage done. A bone was jutting out halfway up his shin. "When did this hap-"

Minerva grabbed him. (Where had she come from?) Taking him up by the throat and hurdling him to the other end of the cellar.

"Do not waste your time on such rot," Minerva dictated, her back to Gray. "You are not free. You are mine because you are alive due to my will. I choose whether you live or die. Do not try my patience with this filth."

There had to be a way to kill her. Natsu was trying so hard and dying for his attempt. But it wasn't that Minerva was invincible, just old. And age made a vampire strong. But there was always a way. Normal humans managed to kill ancients. Why not vampires?

That was because they...

Minerva stalked Natsu. Preparing for the final blow. From across the room, Gray could see Natsu struggling to stand.

"_Thy who burn in light. Thy who go..." _Gray choked fresh blood, feeling ash fill his stomach. It was a hunch. He didn't know whether he would even survive such a prayer. A century old creation used by vampire hunters to send them to their graves.

Reciting it hurt in a good way. It felt like freedom. Gray could only hope that Natsu was out of ear shot. That way it would not kill him too.

"_Thy who go ashen in death. I dictate to thee, leave this place. Bid farewell to the world of the innocent and pure and set thy-selves aflame with hellfire._

"_Thy who drink the blood of hapless souls. Thy have no place amongst __those__ who walk in the day. -"_

An ear splitting shriek tore through the air. Minerva turned away, sooty tears streaking down her face and fingers gone black as charcoal. Gray felt his own stomach turn and he reached to grasp it but found no hand at the end of his arm. Just the same charcoal, speckled with embers.

"_In the name of no god and every god, step through the gates of Oblivion and find thy-selves a fitting end in the realm where sinners earn thy punished and seek torment for thy crimes upon society."_

The cellar was lit by firelight. The witch was burning. The vampire could not help but smile even as he felt the tickle of flames brushing his skin.

The woman who did not deserve the title of vampire still deserved to die like one; in a pit of fire and screams.

"_Vanquish"_

_/_

_-ay..._

_Gray..._

_Gray!_

"Wake up, Gray!"

He was supposed to be dead. Instead Gray was lying down, his head resting on something soft, yet firm, and warm. It was comforting, he could not afford comforting right now.

He was supposed to be dead.

Without opening his eyes Gray knew what he was lying on, who had spoken. He had to force the brain power through the haze of pain that surrounded him. But pain meant life and for that he was thankful. And if Natsu was here, that had to mean...

_Minerva?_ he asked. Or tried to. But no voice reached his ears, though his lips moved.

Natsu seemed to get what Gray had tried to say, and replied. "Gone. Don't worry. But what were you thinking! You could have died. You _should_ have died. Fucking moron- Idiot- Bastard-"

Gray smiled at the half-assed attempts at cursing, finally opening his to find a Natsu that looked much better off than last he saw them. _I love you, too, _he mouthed.

"Ah- Idiot."

Then Natsu was putting his wrist to his mouth and Gray's stomach sank. (Stomach? Did he have one left? What did he have left? He didn't dare look.)

Gray shook his head feebly as Natsu held out his wrist to him. He didn't want it. He could heal on his own.

But the scratchiness in his throat said otherwise, and his brain was fogging up at the succulent scent. In seconds Gray got to see centuries of taught control vanish as he dropped his fangs and bit into the flesh.

Drag after drag of blood, he felt himself growing warm, felt wounds knitting together and burnt away limbs rebuilding themselves. Swallow after swallow, soon the blood wasn't falling straight through him but landing in a newly formed stomach. Between the mouthfuls he drew deep breaths of air, unaware that seconds before he couldn't breathe at all.

When control returned and Natsu was looking sufficiently pale Gray removed his teeth. He licked at the wound he had created uncharacteristically like a kitten until the puncture marks had closed and the bleeding ceased.

"I'm get you back for this," Gray growled. He attempted to push himself to his feet only to find that he lacked the sufficient amount of strength in his limbs to do so.

"Looking forward to it."

In one solid movement, Natsu swept Gray up in his arms, quickly beginning to make his way like that to the door. To Gray's admonishment. The vampire could not help but fume at the treatment. And struggle. A lot of the latter. Though he was still too weak to put up a fight even though he had drank Natsu all but dry.

Gray cursed and sputtered, shooting the other a deadly glare. "Fuck, Natsu, put me down!"

"Nope."

"I wasn't asking."

"I know."

"At least put me on your back, I'm not your bride and I'm not your wife."

There was no more argument. Natsu just gave a resolved sigh and switched Gray over to his back. That simple movement, Natsu giving in, set a somberness in the atmosphere. Gray blinked. It took a second for his brain to catch up with reality. Natsu was still mad at Gray. For more than just lying to him, and for more than almost dying. It was a sick combination of the two.

He frowned. "What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? Cause I'm not. You almost died today and that's exactly what I was trying to protect you guys from. Erza, Lucy, you."

"I don't want you to say you're sorry. I want you to say you made a mistake," Natsu snapped. When Gray didn't give a reply he cursed. Loudly. "The four of us could have taken her. Fuck, the two of us could have taken her! You're not the only god damn person in the fucking world Gray!"

Not any more...

The elder buried his head into his _son__'__s_ neck. He had felt alone before. After he was turned. But even during the last thirty-odd days he didn't feel alone. He had friends that existed out there somewhere.

"You don't have to fight by yourself. You are so _stupid_."

"Give it up Natsu." The flame-head twitched, frozen in place. "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Never again."

"I don't believe you."

"Huh? What the hell? Why?"

Natsu looked back, a wide smile on his face. All he said was; "You and your damn pride. That's why."

"Oh, screw you," Gray frowned. "Just take me home already. My everything feels like jello."

"Yes, princess. We can't have that. I want at least one part hard on you this week."

Gray smacked Natsu.

* * *

A/N: Hey, look who's back with a brand new oneshot. And no one dies. Of importance.

I'll say this now. It's been forever since I've seen anything of Hibiki/Eve/Minerva so they're all probably incredibly OoC. Sorry.

The main idea behind this story was that me and my wonderful beta MiyuTanemura came up with one plot and we both wrote two stories. Each came out lengthy as balls and it was incredibly fun to make. Also, an extended thank you to her for saving this story from a fuck ton of mistakes. (Edit: And the A/N at the end. I'm horrible.)  
The link to her story will be in my portfolio. Please go read. It's incredible how the same plot points can turn into something so incredibly different, and she's amazing :D Go go~

If you liked this idea/story/have anything to say please review I love hearing from you people and it gives my otherwise monotonous, grey life colour~


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